Yankees hit 3 HRs in 8-run second inning, beat BoSox 13-8

BOSTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 2: Greg Bird #31 of the New York Yankees is greeted by Chase Headley #12 and John Ryan Murphy #66 after his home run in the second inning against he Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on September 2, 2015 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

Stephen Drew and the rest of the bottom of the batting order helped the New York Yankees open an 11-run lead.

The Yankees needed almost all of it to leave Fenway Park just one game behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East.

''They put up a big number, and we were able to make it stick,'' Yankees manager Joe Girardi said after New York beat Boston 13-8 on Wednesday. ''When you get guys down there producing the way they are, a lot of times you can put up big numbers. And we did.''

Drew, the No. 9 hitter in the batting order, had one of the Yankees' five homers against his former team, and he also had a double as New York scored eight times in the second inning on its way to a 12-1 lead. No. 6 hitter Greg Bird, No. 7 hitter John Ryan Murphy and No. 8 hitter Didi Gregorious also homered for the Yankees, as did cleanup hitter Carlos Beltran.

''It's good anytime we can do that,'' said Drew, who was a member of Boston's 2013 World Series team but batted .176 the following year before he was sent to the Yankees, with cash, at the trade deadline. ''Didi's swinging the bat well, obviously, and myself, so it was a good day overall for everybody.''

Masahiro Tanaka (11-6) pitched into the seventh inning as the Yankees won for the fifth time in six games. New York improved to 7-2 against the Red Sox at Fenway Park this season and 10-5 overall this season against their longtime rivals.

The Yankees entered the day 1 1/2 games back in the division behind Toronto, which played Cleveland later Wednesday.

The win was the 800th of Yankees manager Joe Girardi's career. He guided the Marlins for one year and is in eighth season with New York.

Red Sox rookie Henry Owens (2-2) retired the first four batters in order but the next eight Yankees reached base safely, with one out coming on the basepaths. In all, the 23-year-old left-hander was charged with seven runs on six hits and two walks.

''It wasn't his best day. We all know that,'' interim manager Torey Lovullo said. ''He started off really strong and it happened pretty quick when they jumped on him.''

Ryan Cook relieved him with two outs in the second and gave up a first-pitch homer to Beltran that made it 8-1.

Xander Bogaerts had three hits, including a homer, for the Red Sox.

Boston loaded the bases in the seventh and eighth, scoring two each time. The Red Sox scored one more in the ninth before Andrew Miller struck out Jackie Bradley Jr. to end it.

INJURED FAN

A fan was taken away on a stretcher after flipping over backward trying to catch a foul ball in the seventh inning. The fan was in the last row of the lower box seats, and landed on the concrete walkway that separates the lower and upper boxes. A witness saw a bloody shirt on the concrete.

There was no immediate word on the condition of the latest fan to be injured at Fenway Park this summer. In June, a woman sustained life-threatening injuries when she was hit by a piece of a broken bat; she recovered. In July, a woman was hit in the face by a foul and taken to a hospital. Earlier this week, a woman was hit in the elbow by thrown bat.

Last weekend, a baseball fan in Atlanta died after falling from the upper deck at Turner Field.

COVERING HIS BASES

The Yankees scored eight runs in the second inning but ran themselves out of an even bigger inning when Gardner was caught on the basepaths on Young's single. Drew was held up at third, but Gardner was halfway there when the Brock Holt cut off the throw home. Young took second on the throw, eliminating that as an option.

Holt followed Gardner to third base and tagged both runners there. Then, for good measure, he tagged third-base umpire Ron Kulpa, too.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Yankees: 1B Mark Teixeira missed his sixth straight with a bruised right shin. He missed seven before coming back for a few games.

Red Sox: Hanley Ramirez was out for his sixth straight with a sore right shoulder. He did take grounders again at first as he converts to being an infielder again.

UP NEXT

Yankees: Off Thursday. RHP Luis Severino (2-2) is scheduled to start Friday when they open a three-game series against Tampa Bay. It will be his first start against the Rays.

Red Sox: Off Thursday. RHP Joe Kelly (8-6) looks to extend a personal six-start winning streak when they host Philadelphia in the opener of a three-game series.